Improved mode of collecting letters on street-railroad cars



JQBQMURRAY. MODE 0P COLLECTING LETTERS ON, STREET RAILROAD (mas.

13333323. Patented May 20, 1862.

ATENT Fries.

J B. MURRAY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED MODE 0F COLLECTING LETTERS 0N STREET-RAILROAD CARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,323, dated May 20,1862.

fi cation, and to the letters of reference thereon.

Formerly letters intended to be dispatched by the mails from cities andtowns were de posited in the drop-letter box of the postoffice. Thegreat increase of mail matter which attended the popularization ofpostal facilities made manifest the inconvenience of carrying or sendingevery letter to the posto't'fice by a special messenger. This wasobviated in part by individuals and companies who established a systemof collecting letters at various points in receiving-boxes bearing theirname and stationed in some corner store, tavern, or other public place.These boxes were provided with suitable locks, and were kept lockedexcept when opened by the messenger, who was provided with..a key and atstated times visited the boxes, removed the mail matter therefrom, andconveyed it to the post-office. made for this service, it was considereda great convenience and saving of time, and the practicewas continued byprivate individuals until the business became of considerable importanceboth pecuniarily and with reference to the convenience and comfort ofthe community. The want of responsibility of the private persons andcompanies engaged in this business led to the appropriation of it by theGovernment, and it became a part of the business of the Post-OfficeDepartment.

In the progress of time the insecurity of the letter-boxes in the cornergroceries and taverns in which they were kept, and the embarrassmentwhich attended access to them by females and children, led to theadoption of cast-iron boxes placed upon the streetlamp posts, which arereasonably secure and accessible to the public; but although the lattermode of collecting letters for the mails in towns and cities is amanifest improvement,

. so far as the receptiOnIand security of the let- Although a smallcharge was ter is concerned,'over the old tin boxes in corner stores,that were formerly used, it does not possess any advantage over the oldmode in point of celerity of conveyance of the letters to thepost-office, which is one of the most important requirements of anylocal lettercollecting system.

Letters deposited in the. lamp-post boxes must wait a longer or shorterperiod, in. proportion to the number of times per day the messengervisits them, before they commence their journey to the post-office, towhich they do not even then go directly, but pursue the circuitous routeof the messenger. For this reason the practice of dispatching letters byspecial messengers to the post-office is continued by those whosenecessities require prompt business centers, near which the post-officeis generally located.

My said invention consists in improving the means of collecting lettersand other mail matter for the mails in towns and cities by combining thebefore-mentioned letter-boxesprovided with suitable looks withstreet-raih way passenger-cars or other similar public and constantpassenger-vehicles such as are used on stated routes in said cities andtowns for the local conveyance of passengers, substantially hereinafterdescribed.

The drawings illustrate my invention as adapted for use in connectionwith a streetrailway car, Figure 1 being a side elevation, and Fig. 2 atransverse section, of the same. Letter a represents a receivmg1etter-box located. near one end of the car, under the seat forpassengers. It is provided with a 2 I emcee locked to prevent thepassengers within the car from access to the letters.

The operation of my invention is that let ters dropped in the boximmediately move toward the post-office, and when they arrive at the endof the route of the street-car or other public vehicle by which they areconveyed, or at that part of the route nearest to the post office, maybe taken from the car immediately to the post-office by a messenger, whois provided with a key and intercepts the car for that purpose. If theletters are to be removed from the box before the car reaches the end ofits route, it will be convenient to have the door of the box on theoutside of the car in position as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 1; and itis evident that many changes maybe made in the situation of theletter-box without changing materially its relative convenience andsecurity as a repository for letters.

Now, I am aware from information that on railway routes between citiesand towns railway-carriages have been set apart for the especialconveyance of mails, to the exclusion of passengers; and I am also awarefrom information that some years ago the experiment was tried of using apouch for the reception of letters in connection with such a car, theletters being brought by special messengers from various parts of thecity of \Vashington to said car at the railway-station, from which itdeparted daily for Baltimore, the letters being introduced into said carthrough a hole in the side, and received in an open box or pouch notprotected from access by a lock, and in a private apartment occupied bya mailag'ent, whose business it was to transfer the letters as they camethrough vehicles such as are used for local passenger conveyance onstated routes in towns and cities, substantially as described.

JOHN B. MURRAY.

lVitnesses:

J OHN CLARK, E. T. LATHAM.

